Batch Cook This Chickpea and Lime Soup for Lunches All Week

Chickpeas sound like a bit of an unusual base for a soup. On their own, they can be a little bland, but just look what happens when you whizz them up with a few special ingredients to make hummus? So delish! (BTW, we’re loving this Halloween Hummus and Veggie Platter right now). This soup has the hummus effect too. Cooked and blended together with sweet potato, chilis and lime, the flavor is amazing. It’s also “accidentally” vegan, making it a great lunch when you have any vegan buddies coming over! And a quick tip: Don’t throw away the liquid (called aquafaba) in your canned chickpeas. You can actually use it in recipes for amazing results (check out our aquafaba recipes).

A comforting and healthy lunch that can be made in less than 45 minutes. Double it up and you’ve got lunch sorted for the whole week. Add different toppings each day — we’ve gone for smokey chickpeas on this one to keep it fully vegan, but you could try bacon bits, a swirl of sour cream or even a sprinkling of cheddar. Love this? Here are more awesome chickpea recipes.

Ingredients:Serves 3

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 brown onion, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 red chili pepper (we used Fresno chili), finely chopped (keep the seeds if you like it hotter!)

Start by making the smokey chickpea topping. Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the chickpeas and cook on a medium-to-high heat for 2 minutes until they start to brown slightly. Add the salt, pepper and smoked paprika and stir together. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Next, make the soup. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan, add the onion and cook on low for 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chili pepper, sweet potato, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and chickpeas. Stir together and cook for a further minute until the spices start to release their fragrance.

Add the stock, stir and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 25 minutes. Once the soup is ready, turn off the heat and carefully blend using a hand blender. Pour in half the lime juice, stir and test the soup — you can then add more lime juice and seasoning according to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with smokey chickpeas, chili flakes and cilantro. Serve with extra lime wedges if you like.

Start by making the smokey chickpea topping. Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the chickpeas and cook on a medium-to-high heat for two minutes until they start to brown slightly. Add the salt, pepper and smoked paprika and stir together. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Next, make the soup. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan, add the onion and cook on low for five minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chili pepper, sweet potato, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and chickpeas. Stir together and cook for a further minute until the spices start to release their fragrance.

Add the stock, stir and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 25 minutes. Once the soup is ready, turn off the heat and carefully blend using a hand blender. Pour in half the lime juice, stir and test the soup — you can then add more lime juice and seasoning according to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with smokey chickpeas, chili flakes and cilantro. Serve with extra lime wedges if you like.

You could also make the soup go further by serving in little mugs.

What are your favorite soup toppings? We’d love to hear! Tweet us @BritandCo!

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